"Unless you surrender the daughter of the Calthorpe family, every single of you shall die today."
That was the moment the bitter realization hit me like an arrow, splitting through air and piercing me right through the lungs.
There was no escape from the vampires.
Or better said, Elijah Blackwood.
I thought that he, for once, felt pity for me and let me go.
The truth could not be crueler.
He gave me hope and let me go, only to send his wild dogs chasing after me later, pulling me right back in.
Next to me, my mother leaned close and whispered, "Don't move. Don't say anything."
I stayed quiet and motionless, rooted to the ground by my own rising fear and the numbness that spread throughout my body.
"But every single member of the Calthorpe family has perished," a man said. "No daughter of theirs remains!"
"No, that's not quite right," another shot out. "The Calthorpes have three daughters. The second one... Her corpse was not among the others. She must still be alive!"
I bit into my lower lip as the others moved around me frantically.
They began sizing up any young woman that was approximately similar to me in age.
"It must be her! She has blonde hair just like Miss Clementine Calthorpe!"
"No, no, that's wrong. The second daughter is not wrong! It has to be this one! She looks like Lord Calthorpe!"
"Whatever, just tie up all young women and let the Blackwood family have them!"
I gritted my teeth in disdain.
These men were no different than beasts.
Amidst the fearful cries of various young women, I shot to my feet and lifted my head. My gaze collided with Elijah Blackwood's, who had spotted me among the others from the beginning.
For him, this was just a form of entertainment.
And I was just part of his game.
"Stop," I bravely shouted. "You want the remaining daughter of the Calthorpe family. She stands before you."
The crowd fell silent. I could scarcely hear my mother's soft whimper next to me.
Elijah Blackwood, arms crossed in an arrogant manner, shot me a devious smirk.
"There you are. Are you done playing hide and seek, wench?"
I slowly made my way to the front, closing the distance between us.
"No one is playing hide and seek, Sir," I said with a trembling voice. "At the very least, I was never told to hide."
Elijah Blackwood grinned at me.
He lifted his hand and tugged at the scarf that I wrapped around my neck. It fell apart at his slightest touch, revealing the mark he left when he sucked my blood.
The mortals gasped in horror. The men stared at me as if I were diseased.
Women sucked deep breaths and covered the eyes of their young ones, as if one look at me could bring them endless misfortune.
But Elijah Blackwood looked at the two tiny holes with gleaming interests.
"And yet you have something to hide, eh?"
His hand grasped my jaw and squeezed it hard. Blinded by pain, tears gathered in my eyes. I was under the impression that he planned to kill me before public eyes, just to tell everyone what might happen if anyone else dared to slight him. Slight the Blackwood family.
But he merely brought our faces close together, so close that I could see my own terrified face reflected across his eyes.
"I gave you the chance to run. Too bad you were not fast enough. Now, you can no longer escape me."
Before my horrified eyes, his face transformed into that of a monster. Deep trenches formed between his brows, his eyes changed into crimson, and then he sank his fangs into my neck.
No scream escaped my throat as my flesh was torn and my carotid artery burst open. As my blood left my body, my knees gradually grew weak and my heavy body sank to the ground.
My eyes rolled backward and I lost my consciousness again. As my vision faded into darkness, my final thought lingered on my poor mother.
Mother, please run, I desperately thought to myself. This time, I am pretty sure that I would not get a second chance to escape...